We are CVCLAW.

Villaraza Cruz Marcelo & Angangco is now also known as CVCLAW. It is under the stewardship of Bienvenido I. Somera, Jr. as Managing Partner, with F. Arthur Villaraza as Chairman and CEO. They are joined in the Executive Committee by Avelino J. Cruz, Jr., Simeon V. Marcelo, Raoul R. Angangco, Sylvette Tankiang and Alejandro Alfonso E. Navarro.

Our partners and associates contribute their capabilities and work as one Firm in providing our clients with a full range of legal services drawn from our collective experience and expertise in areas such as Corporate & Commercial Law, Litigation & Dispute Resolution, Intellectual Property Law, Strategic & Developmental Projects, Labor & Immigration, Telecommunications and Information Communication Technology, Taxation, Power & Energy, Mining & Natural Resources, Tourism and Leisure, Infrastructure, Transportation and Public Utilities, Gaming Law, and Capital Markets, Securities Regulation and Finance.

CVCLAW in the News

• Defining the Small-Scale Mining Rules

  A nagging issue affecting small scale mining in the Philippines has been settled in a recent opinion by the Department of Justice. At issue was whether small-scale mining was governed solely by Republic Act No. 7076, known as the People's Small-Scale Mining Act of 1991, or whether Presidential Decree No. 1899 ("Establishing small-scale mining as new dimension in mineral development") still applied in certain cirumstances.

• Practitioner's perspective: Philippines tempers regulation with incentives

  The Philippines is host to a multitude of mineral riches waiting to be explored, extracted and processed. Located in the Pacific Ring of Fire - a region of frequent earthquakes and volcanic eruptions - the Philippines has established reserves of 7.1 billion tonnes of 13 metallic minerals and 51 billion tonnes of 29 nonmetallic minerals.

• Firm is not lawyer for First Gentleman

  Some media reports have linked the Firm with the legal defense of former First Gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo in connection with the on going Senate investigation on the purchase of helicopters by the Philippine National Police (PNP). This is false.

• CVCLAW draws first blood

  More blood, more life. This was the rallying cry behind CVCLAW’s blood donation campaign, which kicked off on 17 June 2011 as the first in a series of quarterly bloodletting drives.

• Urban race features CVCLAW five-level parking ramp

  CVCLAW Center set a new pace in urban racing as hundreds of runners scaled its five-level parking ramp, which was one of the highlighted legs in the race course of the 2011 Reebok Zig Tech Run held on 05 June 2011. This year’s Reebok Zig Tech Run...
  
  

Represented Cases

• BLA cancels stitching BDO’S “BDO & DESIGN” mark

  In a case handled by our Firm, the Bureau of Legal Affairs (BLA) of the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPO) issued Decision No. 2009-53 dated April 24, 2009 granting Banco de Oro Unibank, Inc.’s (BDO) petition for cancellation against Stichting BDO (Stichting), and ordered the cancellation of Stichting’s trademark registration for the mark “BDO & Design”.

• IPO Director General Sustains CEMEX's Opposition to Supra Systems' Trademark Application for CEMEXTRA

  The case arose from a trademark application filed by local company Supra Systems for the mark “CEMEXTRA”. Cemex, one of the world’s largest cement manufacturers, is also the registered owner of numerous registrations for the name and mark “CEMEX”. Cemex opposed Supra Systems’ application on the ground that it is confusingly similar to its name and marks. Cemex uses its mark on cement and cement products while Supra Systems applied for registration of the mark “CEMEXTRA” for building materials.

• Trial Court Denies Pfizer’s Motion for Reconsideration

  The Order arose from a patent infringement case filed by Pfizer and Warner Lambert against Unilab and Therapharma wherein they alleged that the latter companies infringed Warner Lambert’s patent over Atorvastatin Calcium, the generic name of the best selling anti-cholesterol drug "Lipitor".